Allow me to pose a scenario for you to pensively ponder. I shoot a basketball 9 times. The first 6 of my 9 shots are swishes. The next 2 aren’t as pretty but still go in the basket. My last shot I miss. Overall, I succeeded in making 8 of the 9 shots which means I have an 89% success rate. Now let me ask you this; would you bet on me to make a 10th shot?

This in a nutshell is Carl Crawford’s career. A 4-time All-Star, he has also consistently been amongst the top producing outfielders in all of baseball for the last decade. Barring his rookie season, His first 5 Major League campaigns were incredible – with him routinely posting over a .300 average and 50 steals – while still belting 10-15 HRs. That combination of speed and power is a rare mix that Crawford displayed with ease. He fared very well for his RBI totals when you take into account he has mostly been a Lead-off and #2 batter for his time in the Majors. He faltered slightly in his 6th season with a .273 Average, 8 HRs and only 25 SB, yet still scored 69 Runs in just 109 Games Played during the 2008 season. Not terrible numbers by any means but not Carl Crawford like production. The following 2 seasons, he regained form and astounded many by posting some of his best numbers yet – even placing 7th in the MVP voting of the 2010 season.

Then came the dark days. Then came Boston.

Carl Crawford – The ALL-Star!

Carl Crawford is the Active MLB Leader with 114 Career Triples (Leads Jose Reyes by 3 Triples). With Johnny Damon not having a current team for 2013, Only Jimmy Rollins and he have at least 100 HRs, 100 3B and 100 2B.

Maybe it was adjusting to a new city or a new ballpark. Maybe he wasn’t mentally prepared for the vigorous rigors and pressure of the Boston fans and media. Maybe he finally became self-conscience of being called “Craw-Daddy.” Whatever the case was, Carl Crawford had the worst season in his career. I won’t go into detail about the numbers or the mistakes, just that it was hard to watch and was capped off by him committing a huge error in a crucial end-of-the-season game that knocked The Red Sox out of the playoffs. It was bad news in bean town.

In the offseason, Crawford underwent surgery and didn’t come back until midway through the 2012 season. Now here’s where things get interesting. Expectations were at an all-time low and Crawford was not a very well liked player in Boston. A month after Crawford came back, he had to have season ending Tommy John surgery. Crawford stock hit rock bottom and Boston fans nearly drove him out with torches and pitch-forks. You know what the interesting part was though? That single month that he returned, he began to be Carl Crawford again. He was hitting.

He only played in 31 games and logged 117 At-Bats – but we can do some pretty surprising things with those numbers. His season At-Bat Average over his career is 652. Taking his 2012 numbers and extrapolating them to a 652 At-Bat season, we get a vastly different picture of Carl Crawford.

If he had played the entire 2012 season based on his 31 Game Projections, he would have batted to a .282 Average with 17 HRs and 28 SB. He was also on to rack in 106 RBI. Now admittedly the Stolen Bases are a little low and the RBI total is a little high, but those numbers align almost perfectly with what is expected out of Carl Crawford.

Now Crawford is a Dodger. He’s coming off of two major surgeries, is in a new ballpark, in a new league and his age has become a factor. That might be cause for concern to some people but Dodger fans have taken a cautiously optimistic approach with him while the rest of the Baseball world things he’s a complete bust. I couldn’t be happier.

So let me ask you again. Would you bet on Carl Crawford to have a successful 2013 season for the Los Angeles Dodgers? I would. I’d put every dollar in my bank account on Carl Crawford to be the All-Star caliber player that he has been throughout his career. Why?

Because there’s an 89% chance that I’m going to win.

Carl Crawford is on a throwing program now after recovering from Tommy John Surgery – and maybe ready for opening day on Apr.1st at Dodger Stadium, CC enters the 3rd year of a 7 YR/142 Million Dollar Contract. He should find himself back in a Leadoff role.

A big thank-you goes out to our ‘Dodgers Correspondent’ Aaron Roberts for preparing today’s featured article. Berts” as his friends call him, has been a True Blue believer since before he can remember. It hasn’t always been easy, but he’s stuck with the Dodgers through thick and thin and things are finally starting to look up! Cut him open and you’ll see that he bleeds blue. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, he now resides in Orange County. He attends as many Dodger Home games as he can and scoffs every time his girlfriend drags him to an Angel game (but secretly he enjoys it because any Baseball is better than no Baseball!) A passionate student of the game, he cherishes the legacies and traditions that are intrinsic to Baseball. his life goal is to visit all 30 ballparks and purchase a hat from each one. So far he’s checked 9 off his list with plans to conquer 6 more this upcoming season. Every Spring, he travels to the Arizona desert to catch a glimpse of the upcoming season and the stars that light up the diamond covered in dirt. You can find his rants and musings at http://www.Bertsball.blogspot.com/ and come be his twitter friend. Follow @bertsball

Please e-mail me at: mlbreports@gmail.com with any questions and feedback. You can follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. To subscribe to our website and have the Daily Reports sent directly to your inbox, click here and follow the link at the top of our homepage.

Sully Baseball Podcast – Did a 20 minute show everyday consecutively from 10/24/12 – 4/2/17, Now He is Doing a show Every Thursday

The “Every Day Chucker” Podcast Hosted by Chuck Booth

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In 2012, Chuck Booth attended a complete game in all 30 MLB Parks in just 23 calendar days, click the image of he and Larry Lucchino to read all about it.

The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

The Top 50 Contracts ALL – Time in the MLB – Updated For The Stephen Strasburg Extension

A look at the richest 50 MLB Contracts Of ALL - Time. Click the picture

The Dodgers have acquired infielder/outfielder Connor Joe from the Braves for international bonus pool space, according to Dodger Insider (Twitter link). This is the second trade of the year involving Joe, a 2014 first-round pick who went from Pittsburgh to Atlanta for utilityman Sean Rodriguez last month. The 25-year-old Joe went on to hit just…

The Braves have signed catcher Kurt Suzuki to a one-year deal. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman initially reported (Twitter link) that the two sides were finalizing a new contract, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reporting that the deal will pay Suzuki $3.5MM in 2018. Suzuki is represented by the MVP Sports Group. Suzuki, who turns 34 in October,…

The Twins have agreed to a deal with Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Aguiar, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. The contract contains a $1MM bonus. Aguiar wasn’t eligible to be signed until his 16th birthday, which took place on August 28. “Several late suitors” besides the Twins were also vying for Aguiar’s services,…

The Reds announced on Friday morning that they’ve signed catcher Tucker Barnhart to a four-year contract extension that will keep him around through at least the 2021 season. Barnhart’s new contract also contains a club option for the 2022 season. Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Barnhart will be guaranteed $16MM (Twitter link).…

Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the league… The Padres announced that shortstop Dusty Coleman and right-hander Jose Valdez have cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Both players have subsequently been sent outright to Triple-A El Paso. Coleman, 30, saw his most extensive big league stint to date this season,… […]